Binging with Purpose

Friday, September 20, 2013

I was recently posting a comment on someone else's blog and I wrote, "Don't let the food control you. You can control the food." Then I stopped and actually looked at what I just wrote. I had no choice but to think to myself, "Take your own advice, silly."

I'm a binge eater. I have moments where I want to eat everything in sight and I don't care about the consequences. Weight Watchers is helping because I have to write down everything I eat which makes me pause and think twice. That doesn't mean I don't binge, but I'm learning to make better choices when I do.

For example, the other day I decided to eat a bag of carrots instead of the potato chips left over from my son's birthday party (or the cake that was calling to me from the dining room table). Today, when I wanted to polish off the ice cream, I reached for a bag of gluten free pretzels and made sure I included them in my daily food tracker.

When I went grocery shopping this week, I stalked up on my favorite fruits and vegetables. I found some of the sweetest grapes I've ever tasted and the pears I bought are soft and juicy, just the way I love them. I bought carrots that were washed and ready to eat and stalked up on fresh cucumbers for my salad. As a result, lately when I've wanted to raid the fridge, I've been able to reach for a satisfying snack that fits into my meal plan for the day.

The difference between how I am eating this week and how I ate last week is I am controlling the food instead of letting the food control me. Realizing that is giving me the confidence that was missing from my last blog post. When I went to Weight Watchers this week I was going because I told myself I would go when my son started school but my heart wasn't in it. I was wondering how long I'd last this time before I failed again miserably. However, today I feel a new sense of control. I'm realizing that even if my heart wasn't 100% in it, I was still making choices that were setting me up to succeed.

Quitting smoking was the hardest thing I had ever done up until now. It took determination and the confidence to succeed. I've often said that dieting is turning out to be harder because to quit smoking all I had to do was stop buying cigarettes. However, to lose weight I still have to buy food. Today I'm feeling the same confidence I felt when I knew I had given up cigarettes for good. Today, I believe I can control the food and not let it control me. Today I have stopped wondering when I will fail and have started wondering how I'm going to feel when I succeed.

I know exactly how you feel about making the right choices. Sometimes it is very difficult to choose the right foods, but eating too many carrots is better than eating a bag of chips. Good for you!

I'm doing Weight Watchers too, and although things have been stressful for me lately (I just moved to another state), doing the best I can to stay within my points is a real focus. You should feel proud of the good choices you're making! You're on the right track, congrats!